Beloved footwear executive George Malkemus, who built Manolo Blahnik into a powerhouse brand in the U.S. and later partnered with Sarah Jessica Parker on her SJP label, has died after a long cancer battle. He was 67. Representatives from Arethusa Farm announced Malkemus’ death on Friday on social media. (The executive owned the farm with his partner Tony Yurgaitis.) “It is with a heavy heart that we tell you our beloved George Malkemus passed away yesterday evening at his home in New York City after a long battle with cancer,” Arethusa said in posts on Facebook and Instagram. “Our George was very private — preferring not to trouble anyone with his health concerns.” For three decades, Malkemus and Blahnik were one of the most well-known duos in the luxury business. Malkemus bought the North and South American rights to the designer’s name in 1982, after a brief meeting when the two spoke about their love for — and ownership of — Scottish Terriers. “Neither of us were greedy. We wanted to do this at our pace and to learn the ropes as we went along. That way, the mistakes we’d make would be small mistakes rather than large ones, and that’s the philosophy we’ve always kept,”

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